


Carry Me Home

by Amyiguess



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andrew Minyard Has Feelings, Andrew Minyard Loves Neil Josten, Established Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Happy Andrew Minyard, I don't actually know how tags work pls help, M/M, Post-Canon, Soft Andrew Minyard, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Song: We Are Young (fun.), this is mostly just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24064510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amyiguess/pseuds/Amyiguess
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, Neil had never been dropped as a child. Being dropped would insinuate he had ever been held in the first place…(Or the 5 times Neil asked Andrew to carry him + the 1 time he didn't have to ask)
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 15
Kudos: 640





	Carry Me Home

Neil’s teammates on his pro exy team got exasperated with him very quickly. He was one of the strongest players in exy history, but his lack of social skills and general rudeness made him a very difficult player to work with. The phrases “Were you dropped as a baby?” and “What is wrong with you?” were thrown around quite a lot, although immediately met with regret as his frustrated teammates remember who Neil really is. Contrary to this popular belief, Neil had never been dropped as a child. Being dropped would insinuate he had ever been held in the first place…

**1.**

“What are we watching?” Neil asked, settling on the girls’ couch with Andrew for their weekly movie night. The whole team, including the freshmen, were required to attend.

“Twilight,” Nicky answered. “Before anyone whines,” he shot a look at Robin, a new goalkeeper, who looked like she was about to protest “It’s a drinking game.”

Since all of Neil’s secrets were out, Neil could safely enjoy drinks with the foxes. He had nothing to hide, he could act like a regular college student. Even if he didn’t completely trust the freshmen yet, he had Andrew to protect him from his own mouth.

“What are the rules?” Dan asked, filling solo cups with whatever alcohol they had on hand and handing them out. 

Nicky smiled mischievously and explained the rules.

“We’ll get alcohol poisoning,” Matt said.

“That’s the fun part,” Aaron retorted. “We get to see how Kevin lives 24/7.”

Kevin scoffed at him. “Nice to see you think I’m still alive. Besides, you drink just as much.”

“Yeah well, I still have working kidneys, so suck it.”

“Don’t git it,” Neil slurred half way through the first film. “Wasss ‘apnin?” Neil had probably drunk more alcohol in the past hour than he had in his 20 years of life combined.

“Eddieboy’s a vampire so ‘e glows!” Allison drawled out.

“Makesnosense,” Neil complained. “Dracula never fuckin’ glowed.” But then he added, “Notfair wanna glowwww.” 

“Wish Erik glowed, dat would be hot,” Nicky rambled. “‘magine dat. ‘m gonna be sick.”

Bella sighed once more, everyone took a drink. 

By the end of the first movie, the only sober foxes were Renee and Andrew.

“Why would ‘e leave ‘er? Not nice,” Neil decided.

“Shhhhhhh, dere’s more movies. Next one’s even worse,” Nicky said.

“Less watch it,” Neil begged. 

“No,” Andrew said. “No more alcohol for you.” He took the cup of whiskey out of Neil’s hands.

Neil pouted at him. “Notfair.”

“Always knew you were Minyard’s bitch,” Jack said.

Neil flashed him a dangerous grin. “Can still kill you if I’m drunk.” 

“No murder in my room,” Dan mumbled. “Gonna ruin ma carpet.”

Neil laughed. His head lolled to the side onto Andrew’s shoulder. “‘m tired.” He closed his eyes.

“C’mon, Neil. Time to go to bed,” Andrew said softly, jabbing Neil’s leg.

“‘Dreeeewwww,” Neil giggled. “D’you glow? Bet you do. I wanna glow.”

Andrew got up and pulled Neil with him. He stumbled and giggled some more.

“Carry me, ‘Dreeeewwww.” 

Andrew rolled his eyes, but picked him up anyway. Potato sack style. “If you throw up on me, I’m throwing you down the garbage chute.”

“Y’ave a nice ass,” he rambled. “Pretty face too. Better if you glowed. Thatdbesocool. I wanna glow.”

“I hate you,” Andrew said, walking towards the door, making sure to “accidentally” kick Jack on his way out.

“Noooo, love me,” Neil whined. “I love youuu.” 

**2.**

Andrew was at his side as soon as he collapsed. They had been excited for today’s game, they were finally playing against each other and Andrew had pulled some strings so he wouldn’t have to go back to his apartment in Oklahoma until Monday. Andrew and Neil hadn’t seen each other in 6 weeks, it was driving them both crazy.

Neil lay on the ground, conscious, but in obvious pain. He barely made an effort to get back up. Andrew felt the rage and worry bubble up. He dropped his gloves and pinned his own backliner, Samuel Davis, to the plexiglass. It was not the first time that Neil was knocked down, but it was the first where he did not bounce back up. He was probably overreacting, but ever since Baltimore, Andrew was extremely paranoid when it came to Neil.

“What the fuck, Minyard,” Another one of his teammates said trying to pull him off. 

“Let him go. I’m fine,” Neil said, voice laced with pain.

“Don’t fucking touch him,” He warned before letting of Davis and kneeling next to Neil. He removed Neil’s helmet, then his own. “When you fall, you get the fuck up.”

“Sorry.”

Andrew waved off the team nurse, Neil’s teammates started to protest, as far as anyone knew, Andrew and Neil had been rivals since Palmetto. Andrew glared at them until they backed off. 

“He took a swing at my leg,” Neil muttered. Andrew knew Neil had been ignoring his doctor’s orders and playing on a sprained knee, Andrew had no idea how Davis knew that. 

“This is why you don’t play while injured,” Andrew snapped at him. “Can you stand?” 

Neil shrugged. Andrew stood up and grabbed Neil’s hand to drag him up. Neil whimpered when his knee moved. 

“We need to get a stretcher,” A girl from his team, the captain judging by the C on her jersey sleeve, said. “He can’t walk.” 

“No! No ambulance.” 

“Neil-” Another one of his teammates began to say, but Neil cut him off with a panicked, “No. I can walk.”

Last time Neil was in an ambulance, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever see his foxes again. An ambulance would have to be reserved for the most extreme circumstances, a knee injury was not important enough. 

“Don’t be ridiculous! You can barely even stand,” Someone said. The crowd was starting to lose patience with the game’s halt, and Neil was starting to get desperate, he had that look in his eyes that said he wanted to run. 

“Do you have your car?” Andrew asked in Russian. Neil nodded. “I can take you to the hospital.”

“I can’t walk,” Neil lamented. “Carry me?”

Andrew nodded. “I’m leaving,” He told his closest teammate, who just happened to be Davis.

“You can’t just-”

“Watch me do it anyway.” 

He picked Neil up, bridal style. Neil whined a bit as Andrew readjusted him. 

Neil held onto his neck and to the surprise of everyone at the stadium, Andrew included, kissed Andrew on the cheek.

“I missed you,” he said.

Andrew helped Neil change out of his gear, he didn’t bother trying to change Neil’s pants, Nei had worn jeans to the arena, it would be far too painful to put on. 

“I told you you shouldn’t play tonight,” Andrew said, putting on his own clothes. 

“I felt better, it didn’t hurt anymore.”

“You’re playing with your life,” Andrew snapped. He didn’t like reminding Neil of his deal with Ichirou, but Neil was being reckless. 

“I  _ know _ . But what’s the point of living on borrowed time, Drew? What the fuck is point if the Moriyamas own me anyway.”

“You have a sprained knee, don’t get all philosophical.”

“I’m serious, Andrew. If I can’t play then-”

“Don't you think I fucking know that? Jesus, Neil! Do you seriously think I can sleep, knowing that any tiny thing can be the end of you? It kills me that I can’t be with you, can’t protect you. It would kill me if anything happened to you.” 

They both stayed quiet for a minute while Andrew fished Neil’s keys out of his locker, they’d sold the Columbia house years ago, but Neil still had the key on his ring.

“D’you want to shower before we go? I can wait,” 

“You sound like you’re going to pass out.”

“I’m fi- it hurts, really bad.” Neil never quite broke his “I’m Fine” act. Andrew found it infuriating. 

Andrew had Neil wait in the car while he went to find Neil a wheelchair, carrying was fine, but in the end, it only caused more harm as his knee would still move. 

Luckily, Neil didn’t end up needing surgery. He was, however, benched for 15 weeks. Andrew decided to take him back to Oklahoma to look after him. They got to see each other every day for 3 and a half months, which made Neil going back to Connecticut nearly impossible.

They both transferred to Arizona to play on the same team next season, matching rings on their fingers.

**3.**

After 5 years apart, Andrew and Neil were finally on the same exy team. They would no longer have to rely on their schedules lining up in order to spend one painfully short weekend together. They were moving into their own apartment, a small place in Phoenix, Arizona. 

The foxes had helped them move in but had all returned to their own homes, all spread around the United States, save for Nicky who lived in Berlin with Erik. Neil sat on the couch and stared at the apartment in quiet wonder. Finally, something that was his. His and Andrew’s. A permanent home that wasn’t a college dorm.

Andrew went out to buy paint while Neil was napping. He had become a big fan of napping, allowing himself to relax enough to do so. Sometimes, Andrew joined him and they cuddled for a while, letting themselves be happy. Letting themselves  _ feel _ .

Once Andrew got home, they started applying masking tape to all the moulding and window sills and put some tarp on the ground to protect the carpeted floor. Andrew had picked a baby blue that Neil loved (when he had jokingly suggested orange paint, Andrew threatened to leave him). They put on Neil’s old clothes from his life on the run that he had never bothered to throw away (the fact that Andrew sometimes wore them to sleep was completely irrelevant to the decision to keep some items. Andrew definitely did not sleep in Neil’s clothes when they were apart and he definitely had not given Neil his Palmetto jersey when he graduated).

By the end of it, they were covered in paint and sweat. Neil didn't think he’d ever been happier.

Andrew was the one that pointed out the obvious flaw in their plan; they were short. They could not paint the top half of the wall. They hadn’t taped it because they’d forgotten, so they’d actually have to paint the entire wall.They didn’t have a step ladder and for now, their dining set up was only their couch, so no chairs to stand on. Their furniture was being delivered next week, and they only had Andrew’s old bed, Neil’s couch, a television and boxes filled with their belongings. The essentials. 

They stared in defeat at the three inches of still-white wall.

“We could wait for Matt or Kevin to visit, force them to paint,” Neil suggested.

“Matt would tell Nicky,” Andrew grumbled. “And Kevin would refuse.”

Neil pondered for a second, then got a wicked grin on his face. 

“What?” Andrew asked skeptically.

“I could always sit on your shoulders.”

Andrew was not as hard to convince as Neil would've thought. Sitting on Andrew’s shoulders was not exactly comfortable, but Neil didn’t complain. 

“Hurry up, Junkie. We don’t have all day.” Andrew was getting worse at faking his discontent by the day, or perhaps Neil had just learned to read him better.

“Yes, we do,” Neil retorted as he started to put the tape on the wall. 

  
  


**4.**

“C’mon! It’ll be fun!” Nicky coaxed. The foxes were all gathered at Dan and Matt’s baby shower. They never really had time to meet up, so they were having a great time. Even Andrew was secretly enjoying himself, even indulging Allison with some casual conversation. His blank face may have fooled the others, but it could never fool Neil. Andrew was having fun. He missed the foxes no matter how many times he denied it.

“No. Absolutely not,” Andrew said.

“It could be fun,” Neil shrugged. Nicky had been begging for a race, a piggyback race to be precise. Nicky had been on Erik’s back practically the entire party. Neil thought it really did look like fun. He’d been trying to convince Andrew to do it since Nicky first brought it up. Allison and Renee had already done it, Neil was dying to try it as well.

Andrew only glared at Neil, but he finally relented. “Fine, but don’t go crying when I drop you.”

“Wait, I run faster, shouldn’t you be riding me? How will your tiny legs catch up to Erik?”

Neil barely noticed Andrew’s ears going pink, he did not understand why everyone had stopped talking or why Nicky was laughing uncontrollably. “What?” He asked.

“203%,” Andrew said, which did not answer Neil’s question one bit. 

Neil gave in and jumped on Andrew’s back. Andrew carried Neil to the start line, which was the gift table.

“First to cross the finish line, which is the playground, wins,” Dan said. “Ready, set, GO!” 

Erik and Andrew sprinted off. 

Within 20 seconds, Neil almost fell off Andrew’s back 3 times while trying to adjust his hair, which was falling into his eyes.

“You need a haircut, Junkie. Hang on tighter, I will let you fall off.” 

“No you won’t,” Neil muttered, but strengthened his grip on Andrew anyway.

Nicky and Erik won by a landslide, Erik had the advantage of both having a foot on Andrew and being taller than Nicky, making it easier to carry him. Nicky also did not have a problem with nearly falling off.

They rubbed it in for a while, but Neil didn’t mind. He was glad that Andrew had enjoyed himself. 

He was glad that he was back with his family, even if it was only for an afternoon.

**5.**

Neil looked around giddly. He was in Tokyo, walking hand in hand with Andrew. They were walking to the stadium for their last day of practice before the Olympic finals: Japan vs USA. Neil was an anxious mess but he was so happy that he couldn’t bring himself to care.

It was one of the most grueling days Neil had ever experienced. The practices started at 7 in the morning and lasted until 1, where they then had an hour lunch break. Practices picked back up at 2 and lasted until 9. Neil was so tired that he barely made it back to the hotel, he hadn’t even bothered to shower after practice, which Andrew was not happy about. 

“I am not sleeping in the same bed as you if you are sweating like a pig. Shower’s right there, either that or you sleep on the floor,” 

Neil whined, but sleeping on the floor the night before the most important day of his life was perhaps not the greatest idea.

Andrew was already asleep by the time he got out, and he passed out the second his head hit the pillow.

Neil’s alarm rang at 11am. The match was at 3, they were cutting it far to close for Neil’s liking.

“Fuck off,” Andrew muttered,covering his ears with his pillow, while Neil got up immediately.

“C’mon Drew, we have to go for lunch,” Neil said “I was already very generous, we should have woken up at 9 maximum, Kevin is gonna flip if we’re not ready in the next 5 minutes.”

“Let him,” Andrew said, but sat up anyway.

Neil smiled at him. “Ready?”

“This is your dream, not mine,” Andrew reminded him. 

The Japanese team was amazing. Neil could see Andrew getting more and more frustrated as he failed to shut down the goal. Neil was still faster than every other player but the backliners were far more experienced than he was. There was a reason Japan was undefeated. 

By half-time, the score was 12-10, Japan’s favour. Neil did not like that gap at all. They spent half time going over strategies and line ups. Andrew was going to have to try and shut down the goal even harder, both other goalies had gotten injured. They’d blown out their shoulders in an attempt to clear the ball as far as possible. Andrew was going to have to finish the game with no breaks. 

With 12 seconds left on the clock and a tied score, Neil was starting to lose hope. He hadn’t been this tired since the Raven’s rematch his freshman year at Palmetto, he honestly felt like he was about to collapse. His lungs were on fire and his knees were achin, but he refused to give up.

Japan’s goal lit up red.

Elizabeth Simons had scored a goal.

The buzzer rang.

The United States of America won the olympics.

Neil felt his heart beating out of his chest. He stared at the scoreboard in disbelief. They’d won. He looked back to the goals, where Andrew was still standing despite the rest of the team celebrating. Neil removed his helmet and asked him a worldless question. Andrew nodded and removed his helmet as well. 

Somehow, Neil had enough energy to run and launch himself into Andrew’s arms. Andrew stumbled back a bit but managed to keep his balance. Andrew kissed Neil and Neil could feel him smiling. 

“We did it,” Neil said, barely aware that most of the stadium was watching him and Andrew. “We won.”

Of course the world knew of Andrew and Neil’s marriage, that they had been together since Neil’s first year at Palmetto. The olympic spectators were still shocked as the men were known to never show affection in public, many people had believed the relationship to be fake up until that moment. 

Andrew smiled at Neil, it was probably the first time Andrew Minyard had ever smiled in public. Neil fell in love all over again.

“Yeah,” Andrew said, leaning his forehead against Neil’s. “We did.”

“Thank you, I mean, I know exy was never your dream, and that you don’t even really like it,” Andrew watched in quiet amusement as Neil rambled. “You’re amazing.”

“It’s grown on me,” Andrew said and put Neil down. “Let’s go celebrate.”

**+1**

“Why do you even like this?” Neil asked, gesturing in the general direction of the tv, which was playing MasterChef. He was laying with his head in Andrew’s lap and lazily petting the napping King on his stomach. 

“It’s entertaining to see so-called ‘professional’ chefs fail so miserably at cooking. One of them had never learned to make rice. Even you can make rice,” Andrew said, running his hands through Neil’s hair. 

“I can make other food,” Neil muttered.

“Sure you can. Poison, for instance.”

Neil rolled his eyes but smiled softly at Andrew. Andrew felt his heart melting out of his chest. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, moving his hand to cover Neil’s face. Neil let out a soft chuckle and, forget melting, Andrew’s heart was on fire. “I hate you.”

“Sure you do,” Neil agreed, grabbing Andrew’s hand and moving it back to his own hair. King let out an angry  _ mrow _ as Neil stopped petting her. “ ‘M tired.”

“Go to sleep then, I’m watching a show.”

“I’m comfortable.”

“That’s your problem.”

Andrew didn’t know when Neil fell asleep, probably the second episode of MasterChef Andrew watched since Neil had stopped making remarks around that time. Or maybe he finally learned to keep his mouth shut. 

After the fourth episode, Andrew was tired too. He shut off the tv and marvelled at their apartment as he often did. The walls were littered with memories in the form of picture frames. They were mostly pictures of the foxes, Neil looked so happy in all of them that Andrew couldn’t help but stare. Some were of their nieces, Aaron’s twin girls and the three Boyd-Wilds girls. The foxes had all been surprised at how good Andrew was with the kids. 

His favourite picture was right above the tv, it was of him and Neil, both in black suits. Neil was on Andrew’s back and had the widest smile possible on his face. Their wedding day. Even Andrew had the slightest grin plastered on his face.

Andrew didn’t want to wake Neil, he looked so peaceful when he was asleep. He quietly shooed King off of Neil’s stomach. He slowly and carefully readjusted Neil to make picking him up easier. Neil instinctively grabbed onto Andrew’s neck, which facilitated Andrew’s grip on Neil. He kissed Neil’s forehead and headed to their bedroom. 

Sir had decided to curl up on Neil’s side of the bed, making Andrew’s life significantly harder.

“Damn cat,” he grumbled. “Should’ve left you on the streets.” 

He plopped Neil down on his side of the bed, placed Sir at the foot of the bed, rolled Neil over and got into the bed. He wrapped his arms around Neil. He kissed his nose and closed his eyes.

“I love you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I have returned from the dead  
> -  
> -  
> -  
> Follow my Instagram  
> -  
> -  
> Title is from We Are Young by fun.


End file.
